It is known that there are different sizes of elongated sports equipment as well as different sizes and skill levels of athletes. It is very desirable to have a quick and strong swinging motion when using elongated sports equipment that is used to strike or hit another piece of sports equipment related to that stated sport further and harder. For sports where elongated sports swinging equipment such as a ball is in motion, quickness is important to swing the elongated sports equipment to the desired position and location to strike, throw or hit the moving sports equipment, such as a bat hitting a ball. These types of swings are very a complex athletic motion and movement with very specific techniques needed to execute the motion correctly. The said baseball or fast pitch softball comes towards the player at a rapid speed forcing the player to react quickly to hit the ball. An athlete possessing a quick swing allows the athlete to respond as quickly as possible to the pitched ball, thus making him or her a better player.
Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,154, issued on Mar. 30, 199 to Harman is for a Resistance device for a baseball bat, which teaches an apparatus that can be made from nylon. Nylon is slippery on smooth surfaces that are found on elongated sports swinging equipment such as baseball bats regardless of material the bat is made from. To prevent the said invention from slipping off the elongated sports swinging equipment, plurality of non-slip material is added inside of the sleeve. One location for the non-slip material is directly behind the cord channel of the sleeve. The non-slip material of the present invention is held behind the cord channel with pressure from the tighten cord, and inside of the sleeve, with pressure from the tighten straps helps to prevent the present invention from slipping off the elongated sports equipment during a full swing.
Some methods to increase quickness and strength in a swing do not involve the actual piece of sport equipment or engage the full swing motion of the sports swing. Athlete can weight train, do resistance exercises with elastic bands or tubing or other resistance training equipment but as stated above does not involved the full sport swinging motion. Using the sports swinging exercise equipment, the athlete can use their own elongated sports swinging equipment in a place that has space enough to execute the full sport swing like a designated area such as a batting cage, or a sports field, or even a back yard.
Others methods to increase quickness and strength that do use a full swing motion technique use a heavier piece of sport equipment has its own drawbacks, such as the Easton Bat Weight 16 oz, Power Warp Bat Weight 16/24 oz, Sklz 12 oz bat weight, the DeMarini 16/20 oz and Akadema weighted barbell training bat. Heavier sports equipment will feel different and may cause the athlete to execute the swinging motion slightly differently to compensate for the new weight, thus not practicing athlete's normal swinging motion. The athlete feeling the extra weight with the heavier sports equipment may develop a different starting motion to overcome the inertia of the heavier sport equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,154 to Hartman shows a resistance device for a baseball bat that creates resistance when swinging the baseball bat. This resistance device has a sleeve sized for a baseball bat that lacks an indicator or alignment marker to guide the user to orient the resistance device so the planar flexible rectangular sheet is position to fully engage it. The planar and flexible rectangular sheet is opened-ended, limiting the amount of air it can capture.
One method used to increase air resistance during the swing of swinging sport equipment is demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,838 to DeMarini, where a drogue chute is reefed with suspension lines and reef tape with air permeable netting attached between these suspension lines. The drogue chute breaks away, un-reeling the chute once the bat reaches sufficient speed. However, the DeMarini device must be re-assembled and/or re-attached to the nylon neck after each swing to simulate impact, causing the athlete to stop his training after each time and take the time to reset the air resistance device. The sports swinging exercise device can be used continuously, without stopping to reset or reassemble like when using the DeMarini device.
The DeMarini device has a sleeve that slips over a bat. However it does not have an alignment marker to guide the user in positioning the air resistance device properly. Celone and Yablonowski in U.S. Pat. No. 8,202,294B2 show a swing exercise device for elongated sports equipment where air is captured by a resistance surface, made of nylon membrane, a stiff or rigid light weight sheet or plastic sheet. The resistance surface is limited in the amount of air it can capture. Because it is a flat sheet, Celone and Yablonowski device only provides a set amount of resistance. The coupling links appear to be complex to manufacture with multiple parts, whereas sports swinging exercise device has a sleeve with an open end that is easier to manufacture. Different sized coupling links would be required to secure Celone and Yablonowski device to different type bats. For example, baseball and softball bats have different diameters as specified by different governing associations as well as the larger diameter barrel or smaller neck areas of a bat. Like the Hartman device, the Celone and Yablonowski device does not allow the athlete to change the resistance surface for different air resistance. The device called Powerchute is patent, http://powerchutesports.com/, has similar characteristics but is designed for to work on a golf driver or long wood.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,625 to White has plurality of collapsible vanes members on a shaft, the vanes provide air resistance. White claims the said invention assumes a compact shape and facilitates transportation as well as the shaft maybe of length of a golf club or bat which is long and made from plastic, metal or wood suitable materials so the said invention can be long and not collapsed into a very small compact shape.
One method to provide air resistance have a detachable airfoil which provides resistance is showed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,918 to Rupnik and Kite. The said airfoil can be fabricated from various materials like wood, plastic, metals or composite materials are all hard and may not be compressed into a small shape to facilitate transportation and ease of storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,397 to Gruenewald has plurality of vanes fabricated from glass fiber reinforced plastic, the preferred material, is secured by a plurality of screws and bolts to a tubular tapered body thus the invention is not compact or lightweight, and may not facilitate easy transportation. The Power Swing Fan, http://thegolfcoastonline.com/item.asp?PID=774 has similar characteristics. The invention has half the fastening features to assemble the air resistance devices onto the sleeve compared to prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,154 to Hartman.
The SwingWing is patented, http://golfmarketingservices.blogspot.com/2012/08/swingwing-golfpartners-with-ladies.html, has plurality of short vanes for air resistance does not provide the option to change the amount of air resistance. The device has to be filled with air before being used. Left in the blown up state the device will not compress into a small shape without letting the air out.
In conclusion, no sports swinging exercise device formerly developed provides adjustability in air resistance by having the ability to attach different air resistance devices that are made from light-weight, durable materials that said device can be easily stored and transported in a small.